Arc'teryx Alpha SV Glove

These gloves are incredible. The dexterity is better than any other severe weather glove, you can pull the liner out and replace it with a heavier or lighter liner and still keep the shell, you can go without any liner for those hot spring days. They are super expensive, but they are so versatile its almost the only glove you need in your arsenal.

I've been searching for the perfect gloves for years. One that provides the perfect combination of Dexterity with warmth and breathability. I've tried numerous brand over the years and still find myself searching every year. Being a huge fan of "the Bird"- I was stoked to see them make a run at a better glove.

After pulling the trigger on these and the shock of the sticker price I recieved the gloves. Out of the box the gloves are bar none the most dexterous and comfortable on your hand! There is a definite WOW factor with these! The anatomical cut for every finger allows each finger to move with such ease. The seams are all flat and taped.

The inner liner follows the same pattern as the outer glove. It feels like a 100wt fleece- the seams have been sewn with flatlock seams. I cannot comment on the warmth of the glove yet- as there are pretty mild temps in the north east right now. I still may use my marmot ultimates (and their toasty primaloft inserts) when it gets super chilly in january though.

The wrist cinch is a neat idea. However my wrist cinch opens up any time it is hit (even with a light brushing). This is a bit annoying. Is it a design flaw or just a defective pair. Also there is no wrist strap as mentioned in a previous review. I have to admit that is a nice feature to have.

The pro shell fabric seems quite thin. I would have preferred a more burly face fabric used in order to handle abrasions better. I guess that would comprimise some of the breathability however.

Overall a phenominal glove. Its certainly the best out there on the market! there is still room for some improvement.....especially at this price point. Lastly, whatever you do- Do NOT let your wife know what you paid for these. I found out the hard way :0

I was so jazzed about using these gloves for skiing, I forgot that Arc'Teryx has a very strong technical slant in most of their high-end gear. While these gloves might be ideal for cold weather technical use, I think they fall a little short in a couple of areas for skiing/snowboarding.

The design maximizes ease of articulation at the expense, in my opinion, of toughness - not to say that these gloves are not well made. The fabric used on the back of the hand and the cuff, however, makes me nervous the edges on my skis or a little jagged piece of metal on my bindings might slice right through that wonderfuly expensive GoreTex Pro shell.

The leather looks like great quality, but most gloves at the top of the price range (Arc'Teryx is in a league of its own, here) have reinforcements on the palm and often on the fingers. Again, for technical use perhaps the gain in articulation by not having reinforcements outweighs loss of extra protection. For skiing . . . my gloves rarely last a season or two without taking serious abuse on the palms and fingers. I'd be nervous that the Arc'Teryx gloves wouldn't hold up. For $275, I'd like to get more than a season or two out of them before they start showing substantial wear. Who knows, maybe they'll do just fine (but I don't want to take that chance).

If money were no object, I'd probably use these gloves despite the percieved draw backs and simply replace them if they don't survive the abuse - they're really outstanding in many ways. Since that is not my reality, I returned these gloves and got the Black Diamond Guide gloves, which are substantially beefier and about $125 cheaper.

These gloves are by far and away the best gloves I've ever worn or owned-period.
After reading a few of the reviews,I've come to realize that when people pay a lot of money for something,they'll find fault with it-or look for something that could be better.
These gloves are just about as perfect a glove that you'll find for cold weather endeavors and adventures.They'll allow you to pick up a quarter off the ground without issue-but also keep your hands warm in -25F.The best 275 bucks I've spent.
I just spent the past 4 days snowshoeing the Paul Smith's Wilderness area just outside Lake Placid,in the Adirondack Mountains.Temps as low as -25F and never above 5F,and my hands were warm and dry-a feat I did'nt think possible after digging a snow shelter.The way the outer layer of fabric is laminated to the Gore-Tex Pro Shell is nothing short of revolutionary.The best gloves ever.
I think I should also mention that these gloves have a very easy to use and separate fleece inner liner that works well by itself in cold weather,but wearing both is so comfortable I can't see why you would want to just utilize the liner.I loaned these gloves to a buddy on a week off from snoeshoeing-he did not give them back until I went and got them!

So I decided to try these guys again, but noticed a couple more flaws.

Firstly, no dummy strap. That is just absurd on a $300 glove. Not cool.

Secondly, the wrist clench mechanism. Difficult to work with one hand. Why not make it simpler with a passive elastic or something more streamlined?

Thirdly and most importantly. Most of Arcteryx stuff seems to be made for thinner athletic types, but these glove would fit best on someone with shorter and fatter fingers. I hope next year they will make them more for long, skinny finger guys. IMO.

Also, it did make a lot of sense to me to have such a dexterous design for a big glove. I think it would awesome if they used this technology to make a light glove. Something for temps 15 F to 35F. On par with BD Punisher. Maybe a similar shell, but a thin, fixed liner. Damn, that would be a nice glove.

Had these for about half a season - wanted to put them through some use before writing a review.

First off, yes they're crazy pricey (unless you get them on sale). However, a perfect pair of gloves are worth their weight in gold, especially if most snow gloves don't fit stubby fingers (like mine) well (I wear a cadet medium golf glove if that helps), and I've been looking (and settling) for quite a while.

Sizing, they are shorter than average in the finger length, which works great for me. However, the rough edges of the stitching on the inner glove can dig in to the webbing between your fingers if they're a tad small for you. Also the fingers of the shell are pretty wide in diameter, though I suppose that may have something to do with articulation and/or warmth.

Durability wise, they've held up fine. The leather color seems to have faded slightly (not really a big deal IMO - probably from the Spring sun), and the shell material shows no wear after deflecting a few branches at head level. The leather is _very_ supple, and I was a bit cautious about not holding my skis by the edges too firmly, but I haven't had any cuts in them so far.

Design - Sounds like I'm in the minority in liking that there's no idiot strap/leash, since I never used them on any of my previous gloves (I did a bit initially, but they just got annoying). Stays in line with Arc's minimalist design philosophy. The wrist cinch works, but could use a little bit more development - the strap's excess slack can flap around a bit when you're at speed - fairly minor though. The one-handed cinch and release at the cuff work wonderfully. The stiff cuff of the inner glove makes it easier to don the glove (never liked the fidgety cuff to cuff velcro solution of other gloves with removable liners). One thing that would be a nice improvement would be including something to hook the gloves together when you're not wearing them (like the little plastic clips every other glove has). I used a small carabiner on my pack through the cinch loops on the gloves as a fix, but a plastic thing only weighs a gram or two (and could be easily removed by the hardcore minimalists).

Dexterity and warmth - They are indeed very dextrous, though I do have trouble literally picking up a dime from a flat surface with them. Though with just the shell (and optionally a thin liner), yup - able to pick up a dime off my desk. I didn't find them super toasty in the mid-high teens (Fahrenheit), but it could've been due to other factors - will need to see next season. You do need to cinch down the cuffs well to maintain warmth, otherwise the warm air goes right out the back of the gloves. Windproofness worked well too - no gaps of cold felt when it was gusting at the peaks.

The gloves are suggested for skiing, but I think climbing would be a much better fit since the gloves are primarily ergonomic and not super tough. The only reason I'm taking a star off is that the price is too high in my mind, even for Arcterx. Will update later.

In the end I decided to return these and hold out for next year. I'm super excited for an upgraded version.

Great glove - excellent protexion!!

Like most people it seems, I'm doing four stars and not five because of cost.

Warmer and dryer and waaaaay more dexterous then my Hestra Seth Morrison gloves.

For anyone worried about the durability of Pro Shell its a non issue. I wear Pro Shell pants and jacket for Christmas tree harvest. Twelve hours a day of chainsaw use, machete, clippers, twine and throwing around trees. I've had two spots get damage: one was from barbed wire and the other was from consistently getting gas, diesel, oil and chainsaw lube on the right arm. It caused a few bubbles in the fabric which didnt affect performance.

Ive been using the same set of idiot leashes from an old pair of Dakine gloves for years, but I think these should come with a set. A rubber goggle scraper would be nice on the sideways ice pellet days.

On the shells and on the gloves I havent noticed any quality control issues. I havent seen anything better yet and I'm always looking.

First off these are very well made gloves,very nice attention to detail and very comfortable and dextrous.
I have chronically cold hands and must have a dozen pairs of gloves lying around so when I got these as a gift I was cautiously optimistic. I skied w/them for the first time this past Sat on a mild Feb day w/temp. about 25 F, and,... COLD hands. No warmer than my $25 HEAD gloves from Costco. So, I will be returning them and getting a great deal of money back to continue on my search.

Only after getting 20% off retail did I buy this glove. Immaculate construction, fit and feel. I was and still am blown away they did not come with idiot leashes. But my real problem is they are the coldest gauntlet type alpine glove I have ever worn. At first I thought it was old age creeping up on me but after using them on several days at Alta in differing mild weather conditions, a couple of days were in single digits but nothing brutal... my thumbs were numb from the get go. I finally sent an email to the "Bird" customer service asking if they had experienced any feedback about warmth issues. When I got a snippy response back stating their Alpha model isn't advertised as Arc'Teryx warmest glove and I should use a glove liner (which negates the tactile feel they tout) blew me away. And I couldn't get them back to REI for a $235 credit fast enough...which I then used to buy a pair of Mtn Hardware Bazuka & Mtn Hardware Medusa gloves (both on sale) and still pocketed $80.....way over priced and stone cold dissapointing.

If it wasnt of thé tailored shape these would havé been perfect!!!!

These gloves are made to be the ultimate in breathable, waterproof. They are not the best ski gloves and are far from being the warmest. You would be far warmer with a 20 dollar mitten with heater inserts.

But on days with pouring rain, you will stay dry. I used to use heavy duty kitchen gloves in downpours - and these are obviously much better.

If you don't like to price, don't buy it. The price is not out of line with other extreme weather gear. But this glove is a unique product for a unique purpose. I am glad that it is not advertised as a high-end ski glove, and honestly, I would feel like a tool wearing these on the slopes most days.

I'll start by saying that I am a big fan of most Arcteryx gear, I have hardshell jackets, pants and many other items that have performed amazingly well for years and were worth every cent.I have a fairly normally proportioned hand (L) and these seemed too short and fat in the finger dept. The materials seem good quality and with the thickness of the liner I bet they would be very warm, dexterity is good for a glove of this thickness. On the negative side, the liner does not look like it would stand up to even very light use alone, I imagine you could shred it even holding ski/trekking poles and I don't know if the liners can be bought separate ? even if you can, with the goretex cuff they are going to cost. The gloves are made in China too which is disappointing for a $275 pair of gloves and raises quality questions in my mind.Thanks Backcountry for providing no hassle returns, I went with the MH Medusa glove instead for my winter ski/snowboard/alpine adventures it's half the price, better liner that you can use alone, similar waterproof technology.

There is not many things wrong with this glove, but the question everyone will ask is whether they are worth almost twice as much as the most expensive other glove on the market. In my view Arcteryx grossly overpriced them. These gloves are pretty good, but they are not twice as good as for example Hestra Heli, which are almost as dexterous, have a removable liner and a proven durability record (and more extensive leather coverage). And Arcteryx omitting a safety leash from a $250+ glove is just lame. If you paid that much money for the glove, you would hate to see it tumble down the slope or loose it on the chairlift. So, now you have to spend $20 for a pair of Hestra handcuffs, which brings the price of the combo to, what $300?